Tubular elastic brace



1948. F. D. JOHNSON 2 TUBULAR ELASTIC BRACE Filed July 27, 1945 Patented Jan. 27,1948

FED 2,435,0'0'7 JDUBULAR ELASTIC BRACE t"Fredericli'-Dt Johnson, RochesterfNiY; assignor -to "*Hi'ckok Manufacturing Company, '-Inc.,

iltoohesteri hTfYq-a: corporation .of NewfiYork Application 1111127, 1945;.Serial No. 60-73315 -3' Glaims. TSThis invention relates to 'elasticshoulder straps, "and especially to braces, commonly known as'suspenders.

Z'iPrior braces ofithe' woven orifabric'l'typ i ;ticular1y"those containing; elastic material; tend "rowing further cause "discomfort to' the wearer,

and shorten the life of the brace.

It is theprimary object-of .therpresent invention to devise a brace or the like embodying elastic shoulder straps that are substantially frictionlessrelative 'to the shoulders or the shirt of the wearer, with the-result that the tension is 2 *equaHzed-in the strap endsthat' depend forwardly and rearwardly from the shoulder. In" this-connectionyitds an-object toprom'dea material for purposes-of thepresent invention; in whichelastic Warp and fluffy-woofare so made and related thatthewarp afiords-smooth parallel rib -longitudinally of the strip, with the woof substantially concealed.

It -.is another major obj ectnf my invention to provide anelastic brace or'should'er strap that "can stretch"longitudinally only; the-=width remaining constant-under all conditions. ""'The absence of narrowingunder-stretchingalso tends to prevent spiral -twisting of the strap.

A further important object 'ofthis invention resides in the provision-baa shoulder strap of tubular or hollow tape formation. Such formation affords" smooth finished edges and resistsfthe twisting th'at normally occurs-in aplain fiatstrap; audit also affords a somewhat"vehtilatedstrap in which the body-contacting wall can absorb perspiration that otherwise would pass into the visible outer wall of the strap.

It is a. still further object to construct a tubular elastic shoulder strap from a fiat strip of fabric by joining the edges at one side of the strap with a longitudinal seam, the seam threads being non-elastic but so arranged as to permit free and full longitudinal stretching of the strap.

The foregoing and other objects of the present invention will clearly appear from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawing:

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the front of a complete? pair of suspenders "embodying apreferred form of my invention; one of the "straps be- .ing turned back upon itself to show the'seamd "side surface; l

IFigi 2isanerrl'argedview of a' sectiontofthe -tubular strap "material of Fig. 1, opened at one end and having a'seriesi'ofwarp' threa'dspulled 'awayfromthe woof;

-"Fig.3 represents 'a'crosssectiontaken on the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 2, the clearances being exaggeratedfor clarity of illustration.

.With continued reference tothe' drawing, a. pair of substantially flattened tubularshoulder straps izhave what. may be-...called their rear ends 'secured, astby: sewing, to a pair of conventional .tabs" 5. '1 These tabs form channels for the reception of a conventional cordt 'of. elastic orother "suitable-"materialthe'ends. of which "carry the usual eyelets I 'for. connection to -trouser buttons.

"The other ends o'f'thestraps 4 which'm'ay'be termed" the front 'ends-" pass' in conventional manner through-metal loops; 8,:and are "turned .backwardly upon themselves and fastened to the usual? adjustment 'clarnpsi'9. "The loops 8" carry "channeled" tabs I 0, each receiving a U-shaped -'member'having fslo'tt'edends l3, all conventional.

.Each tubular strap 4 'is formed from aflat'st'rip of material'by' folding one edge rearwardlyjthen fol'dingthe" other edge portiontwice to form a "third smootn'edge l4 "(asbest' seen'in' Fig. 3); andsewing the associated 'edges' together by stitches ildthat are rather loosely drawn; excessivetightness" being avoided for a reason 'presently explained.

Thisseam-m-ay be completed by cementing the edges togetherinlieu of stitching; and this likewise' is' true of any other parts shown joined by sewing. :Preferably in" thecase'of' the tubular strapra pliable and: resilient adhesive would'be 40 "used at the seam.

The strip just mentioned is cut longitudinally from a sheet of woven fabric in which the warp threads, or at least the major part thereof, are elastic, but in which the woof is entirely inelastic. 5 As a result the strip, and hence the strap made therefrom, can be stretched longitudinally without any noticeable change in width. In order to obtain a minimum of friction between the strap and the shirt, the warp preferably comprises prominent smooth elastic threads l6 which appear as ribs on the strap surface, alternated with finer inelastic spiraling threads I! which appear as valleys between the ribs. All of these threads are bound frictionlessly together by very fine woof threads l8 of flufiy fibrous material.

glass-that can be spun into fine substantially frictionless threads.

From the foregoing it willbe seen that I have devised a shoulder strap that is light, and comfortable, due to free sliding and elasticity in one direction only, yet that is sturdy and longwearing. The tubular construction from a fiat strip imparts strength and permanence of shape to the strap, yet, due to the slight looseness and arrangement of the stitching 15, the latter does notdetract from th longitudinal elasticity of the strap. f

The elastic straps need not, of course, extend from end to end of the suspenders, but may consist .of shorter sections inserted in the middle to pass over the shoulders.

I Wish to be limited in customary manner only by reasonably liberal interpretation of the appended claims.

'What is claimed is:

1. A hollow elastic strap for shoulder engaging portions of braces and analogous devices, comprising a fiat strip of elastic fabric folded longitudinally at opposite sides into overlapping relationshipto form a hollow strap of uniform width presenting the front face of the elastic fabric at the front and back of the hollow strap, one of the overlapped portions being folded back on itself and secured to the other portion of the overlap concealing the attached portions within the hollow strap and forming a seam of three thicknesses, said elastic fabric comprising parallel longitudinal elastic threads consisting of smoothly covered elastic filaments, long spiraling finefibrous threads alternating in parallelism with the elastic threads, said elastic threads forming prominent ribs at the front face of the fabric, and fine inelastic cross threads interwoven .with the elastic threads and holding the same in spaced parallelism without affecting the longitudinal stretching of the elastic threads and maintaining the hollow strap in normal uniform width.

2. A hollow elastic strap for shoulder engaging portions of braces and analogous devices, comprising a fiat strip of elastic fabric folded longitudinally at opposite sides into overlapping relationship to form a hollow strap of uniform width, the lateral edges of the strip being secured together interiorly of the hollow strap, said elastic fabric comprising parallel longitudinal elastic threads consisting of smoothly covered elastic filaments, long spiraling fine fibrous threads alternating in parallelism with the elastic threads, said elastic threads forming prominent ribs at the front face of the fabric and fine elastic cross threads interwoven with the elastic threads and holding the same in spaced parallelism without affecting the longitudinal stretching of th elastic threads and maintaining the hollow strap in normal uniform width.

3. A hollow elastic strap for shoulder engaging portions of braces and analogous devices, comprising a, fiat strip of elastic fabric folded longitudinally at opposite sides into overlapping relationship to form a hollow strap of uniform width, the lateral edges of the strip being secured together, said elastic fabric comprising parallel longitudinal elastic threads consisting of smoothly covered elastic filaments, long spiraling fine fibrous threads alternating in parallelism with the elastic threads, said elastic threads forming prominent ribs at the front face of the fabric and fine inelastic cross threads interwoven with the elastic threads and holding the same in spaced parallelism without affecting the longitudinal stretching of the elastic threads and maintaining the hollow strap in normal uniform width.

FREDERICK D. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 360,449 Lapworth Apr. 5, 1887 527,654 Bloom Oct. 16, 1894 817,019 Sykes Apr. 3, 1906 1,195,354 Guinzburg Aug. 22, 1916 1,310,271 Ashtmeyer July 15, 1919 1,566,727 Brigham Dec. 22, 1925 1,706,508 Winnett Mar. 26, 1929 1,762,389 Fagan June '10, 1930 1,782,041 Hirsch Nov. 18, 1930 1,820,072 Joyce Aug. 25, 1931 1,827,313 Friedman Oct. 13, 1931 1,884,310 Sime Oct. 25, 1932 1,921,271 Lubin Aug. 8, 1933 1,978,259 Gastrich Oct. 23, 1934 2,116,701 Hodgkins May 10, 1938 2,217,517 Lances Oct. 8, 1940 2,384,934 Levin Sept. 18, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 470,017 Great Britain Aug. 6, 1937 513,443 7 Great Britain Oct. 12, 1939 

